Face a judge wants us all to see

The injuries were inflicted by two men who lived with mother and son

A judge has agreed that the public of New Zealand should see the horrific injuries suffered by a little boy whose ordeal is a vicious indictment on New Zealand's child abuse statistics.

Judge Christopher Harding, who sent the boy's mother to prison for allowing him to be abused agreed to the Weekend Herald publishing these photographs taken after the then 2-year-old was admitted to the intensive care unit of Whakatane Hospital last year.

His mother, Jill Tania Tito, 24, was given an 18-month jail term on Wednesday for failing to prevent assaults on her son by two men, Harley Wharewera and Kane Tawa.

The photos were contained in the Crown file on the case and Crown prosecutor Rob Ronayne supported the newspaper's application to publish them. "I believe it would help public understanding in this area if the photographs were available."

The judge referred to New Zealand's position as third among developed countries for the number of child homicides.

"A clear message needs to be given about the responsibility of parents for children," the judge said.

Judge Harding released the photographs on condition that the child not be identified. 
 

Mother who just stood by and let it happen 

Jill Tania Tito feared what was waiting for her in prison this week. "No one cares what happens to me," she told the Weekend Herald before she was sentenced. "As long as I get dealt to like those two."

The pair she was referring to are Hayley Mac Wharewera and Kane Jeremy Tawa, who have been beaten by prisoners for their part in a case that stands out even among New Zealand's tragic annals of child abuse.

The dog faeces. The sickening regularity of assaults. The way the two men used gang call signs and signals as they body-slammed, tackled, whipped and kicked a 2-year-old boy.

And the fact that Tito, a 24-year-old solo mother, stood by and let it happen.

The seven weeks of hell inflicted on her son began in August last year when Wharewera, then 19, and Tawa, 23, moved into Tito's flat at 99c James St, Whakatane.

The men called their assaults on the boy "lags" and carried them out in a room nicknamed "the cell", which they covered in graffiti, including fists emblazoned with the words "Black Power" and "Mangu Kaha" (a local chapter of the gang).

They punched holes in the walls and threw the terrified toddler through the larger ones.

Eventually, Wharewera beat him round the head with a roll of wallpaper and almost killed him.

Tito, who watched some of the lags, sobbed as Judge Christopher Harding sentenced her to 18 months in jail. Her crying stopped when he granted her leave to apply for home detention.

Wharewera, serving 10 years, and Tawa, 2 years, pleaded guilty, unlike Tito, who admitted her charge only as the matter was set to go to trial.

There is no doubt her son came close to being another statistic in New Zealand's shameful catalogue of children killed as a result of horrific abuse by people in their homes.

Judge Harding this week said he was obliged to consider Tito's part in the country's high rates of child abuse, including being third among developed nations for child homicide.

Since the case emerged, Tito has become a figure of contempt, especially after revelations that her first child was removed from her care as a baby several years ago.

Talkback host and Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws labelled her "the poster child for bad motherhood". Herald readers vented their feelings in a flood of letters and phone calls.

"I hold the mother just as responsible, for a mother's instinct should be, no matter how scared, to protect the child," one woman wrote.

It is true that Tito took little control of the situation.

While she was abused by the men (they also gave her lags and Tawa smeared his faeces in her bed), she was having sex with Wharewera and claimed to be in love with him. And she admitted always being drunk.

Judge Harding did not accept her excuses that she got sucked in by Wharewera. He said parents' responsibilities to protect their children existed regardless of their relationships with abusers or "imbalances of power".

A probation report painted her as unstable and immature, an assessment backed by those who know her.

The Weekend Herald made several attempts to interview Tito, but she refused. On one occasion she said: "Do I get paid? If you give us money, I will."

Her cousin, Moana, told RadioLive she tried to help Tito over the years. "She always uses anyone to get what she wants." Tito's landlady said she encouraged her to do job training and gave her self-help books, but she remained unemployed.

In an interview with the Sunday Star Times, Tito said her childhood was happy, but she left home at 16 and never got a job.

Wharewera, a small figure who hung his head in shame at his sentencing, claimed he was frequently beaten with sticks and frying pans as a child, and drugs, particularly P, had influenced his behaviour.

Wharewera's mother, Kuini, told the Weekend Herald she gave her son "the odd hiding" but never with the objects claimed. She said he had tried P, but was not a regular user.

His eldest sister, Aroha, 27, said: "He's a very shy, quiet, loving person. He's really good around my kids."

A former teacher of Wharewera's said he seethed with an undercurrent.

"I'm not surprised he's done what he's done," she said.

"You could see that innate evil was going to pop out one day."

Wharewera has reportedly had a difficult time in prison.

Aroha said he was initially unable to shower or eat without getting beaten up, but was doing better now he had been transferred.

Tawa is doing drug and alcohol and anger-management courses.

"We're going to be on him hard when he's released," said his mother, Debbie Savage.

Tawa, father of a boy about the same age as Tito's son, blamed his part on Wharewera's influence.

Tito's son is said to be recovering well, although the long-term effects are unknown. He is in the custody of her parents.